Hey everyone,

I had the hood release handle break on my 04 XJ8 about a month ago so I temporarily fixed it by attaching vice grips to the metal ball which connected to the release latch. It was working fine for a month until the other day when I pulled the vice grips to release the hood and only the drivers side of the hood released. The passenger side is still firmly locked in place and having someone push down on the hood while I pulled the cable does not release it.

I read on the forums about a guy with a 99 XJR (not an x350) that had the same problem and apparently you can peel back the wheel liner and drill a hole in a certain area to expose a spring which will let you pry the passenger side hood catch open with a screw driver. Has anyone done this before on an X350? Should it be the same or is this location different on the X350? Perhaps there is another way to do this easier on the X350 XJ8?

Thanks guys

 

You have to take a coat hanger through the front grille and grab the cable that connects between the latches and pull it.

You basically get one try at it. Get the exposed steel part of the cable and yank it. Once you get the hood open remove the catch that is bolted to the hood on passenger side until you get a replacement latch cable installed...

The above is what I did when my cable broke on my 00 S Type.

Hopefully you don't have a mesh grille...

 

Unfortunately I do have a mesh grill but on my XJ8 it is just an aftermarket one... pretty cheap so if I have to cut it with a saw I will haha much appreciated